Getting Through
by badly-knitted
Summary: Ryo's not always as mild-mannered as he seems. Dee finds that exciting, sometimes painful, but mostly frustrating. Hints at various scenes throughout the manga, the second half is set firmly in Vol. 5, midway through Act 14. This is the first of two pieces I wrote for Challenge #90: Doorways at fan flashworks. It Changes tense halfway through. Sorry if that's disconcerting.


**Title:** Getting Through

**Fandom:** FAKE

**Author:** badly-knitted

**Characters:** Dee, Ryo, Bikky, mentions Commissioner Rose & Mother Maria Lane.

**Rating:** PG

**Setting:** Hints at various scenes throughout the manga, second half set firmly in Vol. 5, midway through Act 14.

**Summary:** Ryo's not always as mild-mannered as he seems. Dee finds that exciting, sometimes painful, but mostly frustrating.

**Word Count:** 856

**Written For: **Challenge #90: Doorway at fan_flashworks

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

**A/N:** Changes tense halfway through. Sorry if that's disconcerting, but it wouldn't go any other way. It's also come out at almost the same word count as the last one!

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OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

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Ryo Maclean was a conundrum; on the surface he seemed mild-mannered, calm, easygoing, laid back (although not in the way Dee would ideally like to have him), a level headed and rational man. Well, first impressions could be misleading; never judge a book by its cover and all that. Damn if he didn't have one hell of a temper when roused! Volatile, that was the word to describe him.

To be fair, it usually took a lot to make Ryo lose his temper, but when he did, you'd better be ready to run for cover! And he blew up over the craziest things, like getting kissed! Dee sometimes despaired of ever really understanding the guy.

Still, he quickly learned two very important things about his new partner; firstly, when Ryo got mad, he got _loud_. That boded well for the future, if Dee ever got him into bed; Ryo kept all that roiling passion bottled up, just waiting to explode when the right buttons were pushed. Dee hadn't found a surefire way to turn him on yet, but when he did there were gonna be fireworks, he was certain.

Secondly, and less appealingly, he was a door-slammer. Hopping around Ryo's apartment, clutching a possibly broken foot (okay, only bruised, but it still hurt like a sonofabitch!) Dee made a mental note to keep all parts of his anatomy well clear of doorways in future whenever Ryo happened to be in a bad mood.

He reminded himself of that again a few weeks later when Ryo slammed a door in his face and nearly broke his nose. He was very contrite and apologetic afterwards, but that didn't make up for Dee's swollen nose.

Come to think of it, Dee had long since lost count of the number of times he'd wound up on the wrong side of a closed door; the wrong side being whichever side Ryo wasn't. It was more than a little frustrating.

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OoOoOoOoO

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When Dee finds himself in the same position yet again, with a shut and locked door in between them, it seems almost inevitable. This time though, he can't allow Ryo to indulge in a temper tantrum. There are things they need to talk about, whether his partner likes it or not, and they aren't the kinds of things to be yelled through a door. There's nothing for it but to employ every dirty tactic he can come up with. There'll be time to mend fences afterwards, right now he wants in and come hell or high water Dee's decided he's getting through that door even if he has to kick it down!

Ow! Kicking his way in is out, apparently. The walls might be paper-thin but the doors are good and solid.

Threatening to take Bikky is so underhanded and mean that Dee's ashamed of himself even as he says it, and he says worse things too, calling Ryo twisted, broken and selfish, saying Bikky will end up the same way if the brat stays with him. Dee doesn't seriously mean any of it; he just needs to get Ryo mad enough to want to take a swing at him. Then he'll _have_ to open the door.

It works. Ryo throws open the door, madder than hell, yelling right in Dee's face, and that's all the opening Dee needs. Once in the doorway, keeping Ryo from slamming the door shut again, he's won that part of the battle, and some of the fight goes out of Ryo.

Dee knows a little of what his partner's going through; the Commissioner told him as much as was on record about what happened to Ryo's parents. The similarities between their murders and the case he and Ryo were working, up until Ryo had to be removed to prevent a potential conflict of interest, are obvious. He gets why Ryo is so angry and upset; he feels the chance to learn who murdered his parents is being snatched away from him and he doesn't want to let it slip from his grasp. It wasn't so long ago that Dee was in a similar situation, wanting to take revenge on the bastard responsible for putting Mother in the hospital. He wants to help, but he can't until Ryo tells him his side of the story.

Once in Ryo's bedroom, sitting side by side on the bed, there's just one final door left between them and it's one only Ryo has the key to; all he needs to do is open up and let Dee in. Dee's a good listener, Ryo should know by now that he can tell him anything. They'll figure this out together, the way partners are meant to do; it's about time Ryo realised that Dee's got his back, no matter what. After all, someone needs to be there to keep Ryo from doing anything stupid, and there's no one better qualified for the job than Dee. He knows that Ryo doesn't understand yet, hopes that someday he will; there's nothing Dee wouldn't do for the man he loves. They're in this together, all the way, and Dee wouldn't have it any other way.

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The End


End file.
